Gabby in Action

Gabby wearing my finale piece: 

The look consisted of a black and white plaid dress with a red visible zipper down the back and black rib knit around the armholes and collar. The bottom of the dress is black chiffon that was tied up around her waist until a certain part of the song when she would then untie it to reveal that it's a floor length dress with a front slit. 

The corset has a black visible zipper down the front and a soft grey cotton trim along the top of it. The panels are made from the different plaids from the rest of the collection with black cotton for the front and the black and white plaid from her dress for the back panels. The inside of the corset has black, white, and red ribbon for the taping of the bones. 

I made the headpiece in London at the London College of fashion for my final piece for my Millinery course. It's a black wool piece that I covered by hand sewing black fabric (that has a shine and a ripple texture). I hand glued all of the red swarovski crystals to the veiling and then sewed the veiling on to the piece. I dyed the ostrich feathers red, curled them, and glued & sewed them to the side. For the final touch I added a white and black butterfly I bought at the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the V&A to the side on top of the red feathers.

Picture courtesy of Brian Powell "Fashion Show Freebies." 

Senior Collection: Finished!

Pictured L/R: Tim, Eric, Sarah, Gabby, Brianna (Me), Dairius, Megan, Kevin, Greg.

On Saturday, April 2nd, I showed my senior collection at 11am and 3pm. My song was Lydia by Highly Suspect and my choreography was pretty simple. During the song Gabby would untie her skirt from around her waist transferring her look from a short draped dress to a floor length evening gown look. I have a few really awesome shots of her in action that I will post soon.

Overall I loved my collection. I got really lucky and my models were amazing people. They were always attentive, on time, excited, eager, good listeners, just the whole nine yards of awesomeness. They also all got along really well, which helped me because I was never stressing out about them or their looks. They all had the same eye makeup for the show, but the girls had red lips while the guys had their lips look as though they were sewn shut. I felt that without hair and makeup and accessories, the outfits could go very punk or very prim and proper. Which is one thing I loved about my looks. Drawing inspiration from bands like My Chemical Romance and then from the classic looks of French tailoring. I really liked playing with accessories and makeup to get the full effect. I like to think my models would make awesome characters in a MCR music video.

My aim was to have the guys have really similar styling but they little differences. For example, they all have different patterned socks and Dairius has a hat to add more black into his look. I wanted the girls to all be different with their styling. For the red and black dress I chose a simple gold ring and a men's pocket square to tie around her wrist. She also got black thigh highs with bows and black ankle boots. Gabby's look had a lot of patterns and my head piece I made in London, so I chose simple black triangle earrings and black heels reminiscent of the Spice Girls style. Megan's look has a Harley Quinn feel to it so I gave her one white glove and some black and white striped earrings. Her heels are cutesy with the t-strap and little black bows, but they're covered in gold spikes for a more dangerous vibe. I am in love with how everything turned out and I can't imagine changing any of it. 

When I get the more professional pictures I'll post those, especially the action shots!

Fashion Show Shenanigans in Photos

Close up of Gabby's makeup.

One of my lovely models getting her
hair done in a faux Mohawk style.

 

Some of my guy models waiting
for their pictures to be taken.

A detail shot of Eric's black and white plaid trousers,
 striped socks, and punk shoes. 

Ready for the show!
Makeup inspiration was from the band
My Chemical Romance when they did
their "The Black Parade" album.

Model & Designer 

All lined up and ready for the show to start!
For the runway they would be entering from altering sides (left/right).
So the first 4 models in line enter from the left and
the second group of 4 enter from the right.

Corsetry Progress

Pictured left is the corset after all of the side seams were sewn together. I was still debating on the zipper but in the end I chose an all black separating zipper for the front closure. There are no laces, it just zips on and off. Once I sewed the seams I pressed them open and then sewed the zipper. Then it was ready for a fitting to see how it fits over the dress.

Pictured right is the corset all sewn together with the zipper and on my mannequin over the dress for Gabby. I was pretty sure it looked to big but decided to wait for the fitting before changing anything. Also, I couldn't put the boning in before making sure it fit. However, I could have put the boning in the seams in which I wouldn't alter after the fitting. The 3 seams I alter are the center back and the 2 side seams. After the fitting I needed to take the corset in around 3 inches total. 

Pictured left is the corset after sewing twill tape down 4 of the seams to create a tunnel for the boning to go inside. I learned this method in my corsetry class at the London College of Fashion (LCF) and decided to use it for my more modernized corset instead of doing the run and fell seams. I am not using black twill tape for the entire insides. I've been debating on how to finish the other 5 seams, but I'm thinking as of now it'll be 2 red seams and 3 white seams. I'll be finishing the corset by hand sewing black twill tape along the top and bottom. I may be taking the corset with me to France to do some hand sewing while in the airport, but that's not set in stone since I haven't packed yet and don't know how heavy my bags will be. We shall see :)

Senior Collection & More!

My Shot for the Program.

Hello Everyone!

The fashion show is 33 days from now and I'm not freaking out at all, which is slightly surprising. I have a model practice tonight and I'll be able to see my line up and see how everyone's patterns look together. I'll also get to see the fit again and if I need to make tiny alterations. I'm pretty excited to see the clothes and shoes and what I've done so far come together. As of now I still have to cut & sew 1 pair of pants and 1 corset. Besides that everything is already cut and in the process of being completed. My goal is still to have everything done before spring break, which is in 12 days. 

Besides my senior collection I'm proud to announce that I've landed an amazing job for part of the summer. I will start late April and work until mid June at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis at a 1st Hand. I'm really excited and can't wait to start! I'll be working on 4 productions and I'll get to do little apprenticeship type classes- millinery is 1 of them! But I think it's a wonderful opportunity and I did everything to make sure I could accept it, which included getting permission from all of my professors to spend the last 3 weeks (including exam week) off campus. I'm very lucky to have their approval and I can't wait to share my progress and projects! So stay tuned for some really awesome things!

Womenswear Progress

Work in progress: striped dress
with zipper detail.

I have 3 female models for my senior collection and since all my male models are wearing pants I figured I should make some different types of skirts or dresses for my looks. One model is in a skirt, one a short dress, and one a long dress. The dress pictured to the right is the same material as one of the men's shirts and has a zipper down the front. It's a stretch knit so the zipper isn't there for function but for fun. I wanted to break up the all over stripes look and I also plan on adding black rib knit to the collar and around the armholes so it'll connect the all over look. I'm really looking forward to seeing the whole look together with hair and makeup and shoes. 

Menswear Progress

Close up of hand sewing one cuff.

Last semester I made 4 menswear looks and this semester I'm only working on one menswear look. The look for this semester consists of a pair of black wool trousers with suede down the side seams and a color blocked t-shirt. The bottom half of the shirt is a black and white plaid, which was used for a pair of men's pants last semester, and the top half is a black cotton. For the collar and cuffs I chose a grey knit to kind of break up all the black and also add another texture into the look. Instead of focusing on elaborate and over the top designs and focus on simpler silhouettes but mixing textures and patterns. I'm pretty happy with the results so far and I can't wait to see it all come together! I have a model practice next week with all 8 of my models and I can't wait to see them all in their looks (what I've gotten done so far) and see how the outfits look all together instead of just individual pieces.

Alice Inspired

Alice Inspired by brimalotke

Looking at my senior collection these past couple of weeks has had me thinking a lot about what truly inspired my collection. It's kind of tricky because after our presentations and such in senior design last semester I changed some of my ideas. Also with this semester, I'm using the same fabrics but the inspiration is coming from a different place. 

When I was doing just my menswear last semester I was drawing inspiration from well tailored suits from A. McQueen and the Savage Beauty exhibit I had seen in London as well as from the patterns I wanted to use and how they all worked together. this semester, working with just 1 men's look and 3 women's has me drawing inspiration from places such as "Alice in Wonderland" and all the red, black, and white aspects to it. Also the different music videos that draw ties from the story. For example, Natalia Kills's music video Wonderland has some obvious draws from the story line (besides the title). I love watching music videos and a lot of the story lines in the videos are insanely intriguing. If you don't watch a lot of music videos I recommend it, it can change your outlook on a song.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens; I've only started in fashion fabric for my men's look and only have 2 looks patterned so far. I'll be posting some pictures as I go, especially when I get to Gabby's corset, and write little descriptions on why I chose certain fabrics and tailoring choices and more! SO stay tuned, the show is April 2nd and I plan on having all of my 8 looks (I did 4 last semester) completed by the middle of March.

Decisions Made: Men's Shoes

Dairius modeling the shoes.

While putting my senior collection together, I've decided to take a more punk rock turn and move away from the polished and sophisticated route my collection was headed. I picked out hair and makeup to help ease my collection further into a punk rock vibe along with my music choice, Lydia by Highly Suspect.
One of the big things that was keeping my collection more polished was the men's shoes. Originally I was going to have them all wear their own black dress shoes, however, when I looked at fit pictures after the break it just didn't seem right. After a while, I considered getting converse for all the guys (5 male models) but I was pretty hesitant in making a final decision. When I discovered these black canvas shoes online at H&M on sale I just went for it. 
I'm pretty happy with the results and they all fit the models- which is pretty great since 2 guys had to go down a half size so that I could order the shoes. I can't wait for all their looks to come together. I'm still pretty positive that I don't want to be an apparel designer and that I'd much rather go into costume design or writing, but I'm having fun with my collection and that's what matters.

2015 in Review

This year has been a whirlwind of amazing times for me. Of course there's been some not so wonderful times, but I've done so much this year it's hard to believe it.
In January I headed off to London for a semester abroad at the London College of Fashion. I made some friends and got to travel to other great places like Scotland and Paris. When I came home I got to see my school's fashion show and my friend model my sustainability piece. 

A collar I patterned, sewed, and stitched
on an apron for "Hay Fever."

Then I was off for the summer to Illinois where I interned with the Champaign Urbana Theatre Company and got to help out on a few shows for my boss and her freelance costume design jobs. I was also lucky enough to land an internship for Fashion A Magazine and have been writing for them and doing social media posts since June.

In August I started my last year at Purdue and began working on my senior collection that will be shown on April2nd, 2016. I interned with the Purdue Costume Shop again this fall and was even lucky enough t be he costume designer for a small production. It was wonderful! I've finished the year with seeing John Oliver in Chicago and getting to spend some quality time with family. I'm really looking forward to this coming year, mainly the whole graduating college part but who knows what will happen after that!

 

Goodbye 2015 & Hello 2016!

 

Enjoying tea time in London at Sketch.

 



First Look for the Show

All of my looks were due this past Monday and I managed to finish everything on time. I decided to do a little post about each one.

For my first look I made a pair of plaid trouser pants that have 2 front tucks and a plain black zipper. The shirt is a long sleeve white button down with a black collar and cuffs. I chose to make the buttonholes black as well to make the overall look more interesting. I am in love with my black and white buttons and chose to use them for everything except the shirt has a small white button up by the collar.

Overall I love the look and I am really looking forward to making the blazer for it next semester. It will be a lot of work but my goal is to create the perfect tailored blazer.

Menswear Fittings Part 1

Today I had my first fitting for my senior collection! I had two of my male models come in and try on their muslin mock ups for fit. My first model is wearing a button down shirt with trousers and a suit jacket (pictured in muslin to the left). My second model is wearing a t-shirt, trousers, and a cool band style jacket (think My Chemical Romance's The Black Parade look).

Both outfits had a couple little problems, mainly when I drafted all my patterns (that's right all drafted none draped) I didn't drop the armhole enough so I just need to bring it down about an inch or so on each upper body piece. Besides that it was just minor things like a too short sleeve or too long hem allowance on a shirt. All things I can easily adjust.

My other 2 male models for the semester will be coming in this Wednesday so I'll have their looks done in muslin and hopefully have less adjustments to make. So far I'm happy with how things have turned out and I'm really excited about all of my fabrics I've gotten for the collection. I'll definitely be posting more on everything once I start the looks in fashion fabric.

Some of My Senior Collection Designs

Shown above are 5/10 designs I created for my senior collection presentation. I am still up in the air on the ratio of men to women for my collection, but these are my favorites out of what I've designed so far. We will be making 3-5 in class this semester, but I'm really hoping that I can make like 4/5 men's looks so that next semester I can focus on the women. Right now I have 4 models: 2 guys and 2 girls. I will post some updates when I get the chance! We pick the 5 we're making this coming Monday and then go to Chicago for fabrics on Wednesday! 

Weekend Plans: Preparing for Fall

A clutch I regret not buying
 in Bath for my senior collection.

I know it's barely summer but I'm already starting to work on my senior collection for next year. While the fashion show isn't until spring 2016, we have to present our collection ideas about the second week into the fall semester. I've always had some sort of idea for what I want to do for my collection, but now that I've actually started working on it I am overwhelmed with ideas for various potential collections. For instance I've considered doing a Marie Antoinette pastel collection, a Dracula themed one, and a fun colorful printed floral collection. There are just way too many options, I kind of wish I had gotten to do my "mini" collection this past spring like the other juniors and how they can do 2-3 looks for the fashion show. I think my solution right now is to just go ahead and sketch every idea I have running through my brain and then pick the strongest collection. Luckily I haven't gotten a part time job yet so I have some free time to work on my collection. I'm just really excited for my senior collection even if I haven't quite figured out what to do yet. I still really want to do 5 female models and 4 male models, and also work with a variety of patterns & textures, but I still need my main big idea. Hopefully I can use all of my time, especially when I'm being lazy on the weekends, to work on my collection. I'm sure once the school year starts I'll just start complaining about how much work I have, but I have very high goals of what I want for my collection, so I'm just going to have to deal with it. We shall see what happens!